In an impressive journey spanning over a decade, CyberGhost has established itself as a widely used VPN service and secured a spot among the market elite. If you’re eyeing CyberGhost for your torrenting needs, you’ve probably come across the provider’s bold claim that it’s the best VPN for P2P sharing. Now, in an industry flooded with competitors vying for attention, such boasts are commonplace and often lack substance.
However, in this instance, we consider the service a compelling contender for the top spot and not far off — as you’ll discover shortly. This article provides a straightforward guide for using CyberGhost for torrent downloads. In addition, we’ll explore the features that make it ideal for the activity.
Does CyberGhost Allow Torrenting?
Yes, it does. Unlike some competitors that only imply support, CyberGhost actually incorporates torrenting into a key feature. On its website is a firm position: while CyberGhost does not condone the illegal sharing of copyrighted material, it fully supports safe and anonymous P2P sharing.
You can torrent on any CyberGhost server. However, the provider offers a dedicated menu of specially optimized options for downloading and seeding files safely and quickly.
On top of that, there’s even a handy tutorial for using the VPN with the uTorrent client.
How to Torrent With CyberGhost
Now we’re clear on the provider’s position, how do you go about torrenting with CyberGhost?
It’s pretty simple, really, and only involves a few steps. Here’s what to do:
1. Select a Torrent Client
You need a torrent client to download and share files using the BitTorrent protocol. The best options include BitTorrent, µTorrent, qBittorrent, and Vuze. Each client has its strong and weak points, so do some research to arrive at your preferred choice.
2. Register a CyberGhost Account
If you don’t have one, head over to the official CyberGhost website to create an account. It is a premium VPN, so select and pay for a subscription plan from the available options.
However, if you prefer to give it a spin before committing, you can take advantage of CyberGhost’s free trials. It offers:
- 24-hour trial on Windows and macOS
- 3-day trial on Android
- 7-day trial on iOS
3. Install and Configure CyberGhost for Torrenting
Download and install the CyberGhost app tailored to your device from the website or official app store. Launch the app and input the information required to sign in.
CyberGhost’s kill switch and DNS leak protection features come enabled by default. If you’re an old user, head over to the app’s Privacy Settings to confirm that both items are toggled on. That way, you’re protecting yourself from potentially devastating leaks.
4. Connect to a CyberGhost Server
From the CyberGhost app home screen, click to expand the menu and select the aptly labeled “For torrenting” tab to access optimized torrenting servers. Select any of the available locations to connect. For the best performance results, choose a nearby option.
Confirm that the VPN has now virtually changed your location using an online IP address checker tool.
You can set the VPN to connect to the same server each time you launch the app. First, add it to your Favorites and then tweak the Connect on launch section within the Smart rules settings.
5. Enjoy Torrenting Safely With CyberGhost
Congratulations. If the online tool detects no leaks, you’re ready to go about your P2P sharing. You can use various torrent sites, insulated from the risks lurking on them. Just ensure that CyberGhost is connected when you download and seed.
Is CyberGhost Good for Torrenting?
CyberGhost is an excellent torrenting VPN. In fact, it’s one of the best providers for the activity.
The service is equipped to handle the dangers associated with P2P sharing thanks to an impressive suite of privacy and security features. They include ironclad encryption, secure and fast tunneling protocols (including WireGuard), a kill switch, and leak protection.
Plus, you can expect fast speeds, an essential requirement for downloading or sharing large files.
Let’s take a closer look at these factors.
Specialized P2P Servers
CyberGhost has a massive network comprising 10,200+ servers across 100 countries globally. The VPN doesn’t place any restrictions on them, so you can torrent with any server.
However, you’ll get much better results using its dedicated servers for the activity. CyberGhost is the first provider to offer specially designed servers for P2P traffic, with dozens of options available for faster downloads and secure, reliable connections.
The menu provides helpful information, including your distance to the server, the load, and the number of connected users.
Unlimited Bandwidth
Nobody wants to escape the clutches of ISP throttling only to run into the same frustrating issue with a VPN. However, that’s the reality some VPN users — especially the free ones — face.
With CyberGhost, you can say goodbye to capped data limits and restrictive bandwidth. No matter how large your downloaded and uploaded files are, the VPN will never deliberately slow down your connection speed or disrupt your experience with arbitrary limits.
Fast Connection Speeds
A VPN inevitably impacts your internet connection due to the extra steps it introduces along the way. That’s a significant issue, considering torrenting usually involves heavy files.
Luckily, CyberGhost is one of the fastest VPN services today. Thanks to the provider’s vast network, high-performance 10 Gbps server infrastructure, and the presence of WireGuard, you can expect smooth, speedy connections — and that’s on the regular servers. The specially optimized servers for torrenting are even faster.
Military-Grade Encryption
The desktop torrent client you selected likely has built-in encryption to hide your torrenting from your ISP and offer some privacy. Unfortunately, they are limited to relatively weak cryptography vulnerable to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.
On the other hand, CyberGhost implements bank-level AES 256-bit encryption. That’s the cipher trusted by defense agencies and security firms around the world and is virtually uncrackable. There’s next to zero chance that hackers, your ISP, copyright trolls, and other snoops can read your data, even if intercepted.
Strict No-Logs Policy
Plus, the VPN has a user-friendly logging policy in place. It is based in Romania, a country with no data retention mandates. What’s more, CyberGhost will not collect and store the logs of your browsing and downloading activities, essentially ensuring that you’re all but anonymous. As a result, the details of your visited sites, downloaded files, and more are only known to you.
CyberGhost’s no logs policy has undergone an independent audit of this policy by Deloitte, which has proven it airtight. Besides, it releases regular transparency reports detailing data requests from law enforcement.
NoSpy Servers
If you’re in a restrictive country and paranoid about P2P sharing, you can hop on CyberGhost’s NoSpy servers. These premium servers are self-owned and managed end-to-end by the VPN service in its data centers.
They also support torrenting, so you can download and share without the fear of being found out. Interestingly, these servers offer bigger bandwidth and better speeds.
NoSpy servers are a paid addon but are pretty affordable.
What Other Essential Features Does The VPN Offer?
In addition to those listed above, these features help to ensure smooth, secure torrenting experiences.
Kill Switch: As soon as it detects an interruption to the VPN connection, the kill switch automatically prevents your device from sending or receiving data. By cutting off your internet connection, it prevents the exposure of your location and personal information. CyberGhost has a kill switch on its Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android clients.
Split Tunneling: By default, CyberGhost routes all your internet traffic from all your apps through the VPN’s secure tunnel. However, the split tunneling feature lets you torrent while protected by the VPN and carry out other activities, like domestic streaming, on your regular internet connection.
IP/DNS Leak protection: IP/DNS/WebRTC leaks can lead to your torrenting activity being linked to you. But that’s not an issue with CyberGhost. Like other providers, we regularly test the VPN for leaks, and it has never failed an assessment.
Ad blocker: This feature isn’t going to brush aside every annoying pop-up ad. That said, it’s especially effective against malicious ads containing malware on torrenting sites.
If required, you can find more details in our CyberGhost analysis.
What’s Lacking?
As you can see, with CyberGhost, you get relevant industry-standard tools and performance necessary for seamless torrent downloads and seeding. That said, here’s what we would have liked to see: Port forwarding.
Port forwarding permits outside devices to connect to those within your local network. It allows other peers to connect to you easily. That way, you can contribute to the swarm and maintain a good upload ratio. It also increases performance on some BitTorrent clients.
Unfortunately, CyberGhost doesn’t allow port forwarding. That said, it’s often the case with VPNs — only ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN, and a handful of others come with the functionality.
Can You Torrent With a Free VPN Instead?
We don’t recommend torrenting with free VPNs, as they are ill-equipped to handle the activity reliably in terms of privacy/security functionality and performance.
To begin with, most free VPNs are incredibly slow. Sure, your internet connection will always take a hit when you establish a VPN connection. However, the top premium VPN services keep that effect at a minimum. But thanks to small server networks, subpar infrastructure, and the lack of speedy protocols, you’re bound to be stuck with sluggish downloads.
Besides, most free VPNs have data and bandwidth caps, which can be severely limiting. For instance, TunnelBear has a 2 GB monthly limit. That won’t last long if you plan to carry out heavy downloading.
Even worse, many free VPNs are privacy and security risks. In exchange for cost-free access, your data may be extensively logged and sold to third parties. What’s more, less-than-stellar features may lead to the exposure of your location and personal data, potentially resulting in serious consequences.
An affordable VPN provider like CyberGhost will always be a better option, especially considering it comes with a free trial.
Conclusion
Torrenting isn’t the safest online activity. It brings risks like copyright issues, malware, and legal troubles if you cross copyright lines. Plus, your internet provider could slow down your downloads if it catches you torrenting.
Well, unless you use a VPN service. Romanian-based CyberGhost is one of the most P2P-friendly providers. If you subscribe to CyberGhost for torrenting, a generous 45-day money-back guarantee grants you more than enough time to test the service extensively, risk-free.
FAQs
Is CyberGhost good for torrenting?
Yes, CyberGhost is an excellent VPN for peer-to-peer sharing due to its robust security features, no-log policy, and impressive performance. What’s more, it offers dedicated P2P servers that provide extra speed and security for torrenting.
Can I get into trouble while torrenting with CyberGhost?
Torrenting itself is allowed in most countries. However, downloading and sharing copyrighted material without permission places you in a legal gray area. Besides, copyright trolls are a real problem when you torrent.
That said, mistakes happen. CyberGhost helps to protect you from potential consequences by shielding your location and personal information with military-grade encryption. Plus, it doesn’t store logs of your activity that may have led back to you.
